Elephant, calf found dead in Bandipur, BRT forest

A wild elephant and a calf were found dead at Bandipur National Park and Biligiri Ranganathswamy Tiger (BRT) Reserve Forest, in the district.

The elephants are suspected to have died of gastroenteritis.

A female wild elephant, about 40 years old, was found dead near Hanakere in K Gudi range of the BRT reserve forest on Thursday. The post mortem report showed symptoms of gastroenteritis leading to its death.

A male calf was found dead in the Madduru range of Bandipur National Park. It is said that the calf was suffering from diarrhoea for the past five days and died of dehydration.

Veterinary doctors conducted the post mortem on the spot.

As symptoms of gastroenteritis have been found in the post mortem reports,  the samples have been sent to forensic science laboratory for more details, the forest officials said. Most of the ponds and tanks have dried up in the forest due to lack of rain in the summer. 

Further, the elephants relax in waterholes. They also use them for defacation.

The consumption of this contaminated water might have led to gastroenteritis, veterinary doctors said.